Power Leveller B

First of all, Merry Christmas to everyone reading this blog.
Thank you for reading, even though I have written sparingly this year.

Power Leveller B is a buff pack that a guild can activate using guild reputation points (RP), along with other buff packs. So let's start with listing what they are :

Battle Pack A (cost 5 RP) :

• Rage (level 150)
• Berserk (level 150)
• Fortify (level 150)

Battle Pack B (cost 15 RP) :

• Deathwish (level 200)
• Death Dealer (level 200)
• Wither (level 200)

Power Leveller A (cost 10 RP) :

• Adept Learner (level 150)
• Librarian (level 150)
• Doubler (level 150)

Power Leveller B (cost 20 RP) :

• Adept Learner (level 200)
• Librarian (level 200)
• Doubler (level 200)
• Conserve (level 200)

Fortune Pack A (cost 10 RP) :

• Quest Finder (level 150)
• Merchant (level 150)
• Four Leaf (level 150)
• Find Item (level 150)
• Treasure Hunter (level 150)

All the packs will have those buffs applied to all members in the guild, and the duration will be 12 hours. Since all the Pack A are only level 150, I'll discount them as quite worthless. Battle Pack B may look interesting at first glance, but once you realize that there's Wither level 350 potions, and that Death Dealer does NOT give more damage at level 200, the only useful buff will be Deathwish level 200. It does not appear to be worth the 15 RP, especially if you are 1-hitting.

Now, that we get those distraction out of the way, we can get back to Power Leveller B. In this pack, Librarian is really not needed, since the Potion of the Bookworm provides a level 225 buff. The Doubler is also not needed, since potions can provide a level 750 buff, and the Christmas present (Santork Stocking) provides level 1200 buff. That leaves 2 useful buffs, Adept Learner level 200 and Conserve level 200.

Adept Learner level 200 gives 40% more xp from creature kills, compared to 35% more xp when using the buff at level 175. Effectively, this is a 3.7% improvement (1.4/1.35-1). Conserve level 200 gives a 10% chance that an attack will use no stamina, while Conserve level 175 gives a 8.75% chance. So effectively, this is a 1.15% improvement (1.1/1.0875-1). Together, that result in a 4.9% improvement ((1+5%)*(1+1.15%)-1).

So, if you are hunting with 10k stam, you effectively 'gained' 490 stam using this pack, compared to regular buffs. And you also saved 20 stam from not having to buff Adept Learner and Conserve. So that buff pack is worth 510 stam (or 20 fsps), for even a single player burning 10k stam. Multiply that by the number of players hunting in the 12 hours period.

The other side of the equation is the value of RP. RP can be gained in 2 ways :

• Winning a GvG conflict
• Titan hunting (rewarded for 2nd through 5th place)

The cost to initiate a GvG conflict varies, and averages around 3 fsps. The cost is higher if the the target guild has a lower GvG rating. Each conflict require a minimum of 50 attacks. Each attack will require at least 10 stamina. So each conflict will need at least 500 stamina, and let's say you win 50%, each conflict win averages 1000 stamina. Each conflict win translate to 10 RP, so each RP cost 100 stam. The Power Leveller B pack, at 20 RP therefore cost 2000 stam to activate (if RP is acquired via conflicts). Using this, the break-even will translate to about 40k stam used in levelling, totalled across all members in the 12 hours period.

For titan hunting, the winner is rewarded with an epic item. The runner-ups (up to 5th place) receives RP.

• 1st place : Epic Item (Actual item depends on the titan killed)
• 2nd place : 100 RP
• 3rd place : 75 RP
• 4th place : 50 RP
• 5th place : 20 RP

Calculating this is not as straight forward. Looking at the titan log right now I got the following :

• Fuvayu (1547/1376/1132/689/442)
• Tsukiyaomo (3326/2440/313/312/48)
• Tsukiyaomo (3483/903/792/770/549)
• Fuvayu (2989/676/561/478/441)
• Ogalith (1614/600/228/194/192)

I know that 5 titans aren't exactly statistics, but I'll just use this as an example, and you can be the statistician. The numbers in the brackets represent the number of kills for the 1st through 5th place. Now, yet another assumption. Each kill takes an average of 4 stam for 1-hitters, and 5 stam for 2-hitters. The Tsukiyaomo titan will require 2 stam, and the others could require only 4 if you are of sufficient levels. The best result for the above will be the 48 kills getting 5th place and 20 RP. Each RP in that case cost only 12 stam! The worst case is surprizingly also a 5th place Tsukiyaomi titan kill, 549 kill, and result in 137 stam/RP. This worst case result is worse than GvG, but the 'average', if you can even average such a diverse result, is 51 stam/RP. The lower titan (Ogalith) appears to be the most favorable for stam/RP, with an average of 22.52 stam/RP.

I hope the above gives you an idea of the value of the Power Leveller B buff pack, both the cost of it, and what the value to you when you hunt.

Tsukiyaomos Benighted Helm

First of all, let me retract one of my previous assumption. That assumption was that if you cannot 1-hit, there are no defensive setups that can allow a 1-hit with Spectral Knight activation. That assumption was valid (for me at least), until I hit level 594. The Blade of Panethor was the item that changed that assumption. Also, the new relic bonus now allow for up to 20% more attack/damage/defense, so that may invalidate my previous assumption prior to level 594 also.

Now, let's back to the topic for this blog.

Tsukiyaomos Benighted Helm is an Epic item, awarded to the guild for having the most kill on a Tsukiyaomos Titan. A perfect and fully forged helm gives 710 defense and 1035 damage. It's minimum level is 550 and is the highest damage item for its level. Only until level 660 can you find a helmet with higher damage (Helmet of Comizhar). So clearly, this is the ideal helm from level 550 to 659, but what about 660?

The perfect and fully forged Helmet of Comizhar gives 293 defense and 1193 damage. So at first glance, the trade off is 417 defense for 158 damage. If you are aiming for 1-hit, the Helmet of Comizhar at first glance looks better. But you will want to have Elite Hunter. Tsukiyaomos Benighted Helm gives the Elite Hunter, so you don't need to use another set. While with the Helmet of Comizhar, you will need to get it from another item. Let's compare a few setups at level 660.

Setup #1 : Tsukiyaomos Benighted Helm
Tsukiyaomos Benighted Helm (710 defense, 1035 damage)
Gloves of Sarlonde (412 defense, 1062 damage)
Amulet of Phalla (204 attack, 1184 damage)
Axe of Malquan (243 attack, 1189 damage)
Armor of Fellaphel (343 defense, 1035 damage)
Farn-org Shield (422 armor, 1063 damage)
Ring of Gasrel (204 defense, 1142 damage)
Boots of Aeroni (237 defense, 1105 damage)
Rune of Autpel (343 defense, 1093 damage)
*Gloves and Shield above are excellent stats

Setup #2 : Helmet of Comizhar with Fuvayus Vortex Stone
Helmet of Comizhar (293 defense, 1193 damage)
Fuvayus Vortex Stone (376 defense, 875 damage)
Gloves of Sarlonde (412 defense, 1062 damage)
Amulet of Phalla (204 attack, 1184 damage)
Axe of Malquan (243 attack, 1189 damage)
Armor of Fellaphel (343 defense, 1035 damage)
Farn-org Shield (422 armor, 1063 damage)
Ring of Gasrel (204 defense, 1142 damage)
Boots of Aeroni (237 defense, 1105 damage)
*Stone above is excellent stats

Setup #3 : Helmet of Comizhar with Polar Spine set
Helmet of Comizhar (293 defense, 1193 damage)
Polar Spine Grips (84 attack, 964 armor, 659 damage)
Polar Spine Neckpiece (522 attack, 426 armor, 759 damage)
Polar Spine set bonus (450 attack, 650 damage)
Axe of Malquan (243 attack, 1189 damage)
Armor of Fellaphel (343 defense, 1035 damage)
Farn-org Shield (422 armor, 1063 damage)
Ring of Gasrel (204 defense, 1142 damage)
Boots of Aeroni (237 defense, 1105 damage)
Rune of Autpel (343 defense, 1093 damage)

Setup #4 : Tsukiyaomos Benighted Helm with Polar Spine set
Tsukiyaomos Benighted Helm (710 defense, 1035 damage)
Polar Spine Grips (84 attack, 964 armor, 659 damage)
Polar Spine Neckpiece (522 attack, 426 armor, 759 damage)
Polar Spine set bonus (450 attack, 650 damage)
Axe of Malquan (243 attack, 1189 damage)
Armor of Fellaphel (343 defense, 1035 damage)
Farn-org Shield (422 armor, 1063 damage)
Ring of Gasrel (204 defense, 1142 damage)
Boots of Aeroni (237 defense, 1105 damage)
Rune of Autpel (343 defense, 1093 damage)

The only 4 items that differ are Helm, Gloves, Amulet and Rune, so let's add only those.
Setup #1 : 204 attack, 4374 damage, 1465 defense
Setup #2 : 204 attack, 4314 damage, 1081 defense
Setup #3 : 1056 attack, 4354 damage, 636 defense
Setup #4 : 1056 attack, 4196 damage, 1053 defense
So setup #2 pales in every way when compared to setup #1. It is still worth mentioning, especially since the Tsukiyaomos helmet is not always available.
Now, setup #3 when compared to setup #1 is a trade off. The trade off is for 20 damage and more than 800 defense for more than 800 attack. That damage is difference is in a way insignificant, and the comparison basically becomes defense vs attack trade off.
Setup #4 compared to setup #3 is a trade off of damage for defense. The question on which setup to use will depend on the creature.

On many levels, setup #1 will NOT provide enough attack. So one has to consider setup #2 and #3. Other items worth considering are :
Ornate set : When compared to Polar Spine, it has 78 attack and 749 damage less, but gains 938 defense. It is useful only in 2-hit scenario.
Gloves of Renshar : Has attack stats
Ring of Aeslam : Has attack stats
Shield of Stalia : Has attack stats
Shield of Deffale : Has defense stats (Farn-org Shield has armor)
Armor of Huraal : Has attack stats

Upgrades past level 660 includes :
Gloves of Gialle (669) : Useful only in setup #1, since Polar Spine, Ornate or even Volkers set has a glove.
Guardian of Meidos Armor (710) : Damage upgrade, but has armor stats
Arkl Axe (712) : Damage upgrade, attack stats

Krul Pyramid

Krul Pyramid is a relic. As per my previous blog entry on Ethereal Pillars, I will document here how to get to the Pyramid, how to get to the nearest portal, as well as the stamina used.

To the Pyramid :
Portal to Krul Island : 25
Enter Krul Beach - leads to Krul Beach Forest West : 1
(2,2) - (11,9) : (E,4S,E,2S,W,2S,5E,4N,2E,5N,2E,8S,W) : 38
Enter Krul Beach Forest East : 1
(22,2) - (7,21) : (4W,(enter tunnel),E,2S,(enter tunnel),5E,N) : 15
Enter Krul Small Cave : 1
(2,2) - (4,16) : (4E,14S,2W) : 20
Total = 25+1+38+1+ 15 + 1 + 20 = 101

Krul Beach Forest East is a maze.
To help visualize it, LordOlaf made a map, and you can find it here :
http://www.brownbox.mrolaf.com/newrelic.jpg

Compare to Pillar, this is 4 steps further.
But the comparison won't be complete until we know how to get out to a nearest portal.

The nearest portal is in Krul Beach Forest East.
Again, the map above can help visualize it.
Here's the path to nearest portal :

(4,16) - (2,2) : (2E,14N,4W) : 20
Enter Krul Beach Forest East : 1
(7,21) - (8,15) : (S,5W,(enter tunnel),2N,W,(enter tunnel),2E,3S,(enter tunnel),E,2S) : 20
Total = 20+1+20 = 41.

Compared to Pillar, this is 14 steps nearer.
So the net distance is 10 steps nearer than Pillar.

Shield Strike

When I wrote the entry "Strategy for Tough Levels", my guild mate Andypearce pointed out that Shield Strike can improve the efficiency of the Wither + defense setup.

Shield Strike is a level 700 skill and was not generally available until relatively recently. It is under the Offense tree, cost 20 stamina to buff and has a duration of 45 mins. Its description is :

0.1% per point chance that your defense stat is reduced to zero and your damage is doubled.

So, at level 175, it gives a 17.5% chance of activation.
While we are at it, a level 175 Deathwish has 5.25% chance of activation.
Wither at 350 has a 70% chance of activation.
Critical strike also has a reported chance of 3% activation if max'ed. If you have statistics to show otherwise, please let me know.

All the above skills enhances the 2-hit defensive setups. When any one of those activates, it will turn the 2-hit situation into a 1-hit. Some players mentioned Spectral Knight. I beg to differ on the usefulness of that buff. If the creature is easy, then you can 1-hit without the need of armor reduction. If you can't 1-hit and need to use a defensive setup, chances are that you won't be able to 1-hit even if Spectral Knight is activated.

Now, do NOT add all those percentages.
So the chance that none of them activate is (30% wither, 82.5% shield strike, 94.75% deathwish, 97% critical strike), multiply those, and that will be about 22.75%. That gives a 77.25% chance of 1-strike, and the efficiency is about 1.23.

Note that below assumes 16x doubler, and the Wither setup includes the use of Shield strike and Deathwish.

Efficiency	Setup
1	1-hit
1.06	CA-25
1.13	CA-50
1.19	CA-75
1.23	Wither 350 + Defense
1.25	CA-100
1.25	Back-level (1-hit)
1.3	Wither 350 + CA25 + Defense
1.31	CA-125
1.33	Back-level (CA-25)
1.35	Wither 350 + Imp
1.38	CA-150
1.39	Wither 350 + CA50 + Defense
1.41	Back-level (CA-50)
1.44	CA-175
1.46	Wither 350 + CA75 + Defense
1.48	Back-level (CA-75)
1.56	Back-level (CA-100)
1.64	Back-level (CA-125)
1.72	Back-level (CA-150)
1.8	Back-level (CA-175)
2	2-hit

FI 800 vs FI 1000

Potion of Greater Discovery gives a Find Item buff of level 800. It is relatively cheap. At the time of writing this blog, the lowest is going for 44,000 gold buy-now price.
Potion of Supreme Luck gives the same buff, but level 1000. Its can be found in the Special section of Auction House. The items are bounded and you cannot resell them. The minimum bid is 24,000 gold but bidding often go above 200,000 gold or even more during events.

But what is the Find Item buff? The description says :

+0.1% per point increase of creatures current drop rate.

So the FI 800 potion gives 80% increase of creatures current drop rate.
The FI 1000 potion gives 100% increase of creatures current drop rate.

Let's say the drop rate is X, then FI 800 will increase it to 1.8 X, while FI 1000 will increase it to 2.0 X. Therefore, the FI 800 drop rate is only 10% less than FI 1000 and not 20% like some thought it to be.

In scavenging, that 10% can still matter a lot. If you are spending 2 mil, that 10% amounts to 200k, and you should break even if you have to pay 200k more (ie, 244k) for the FI 1000. And if you are hard core and spend 10 mil, your break-even will be 1 mil for the FI 1000 potion.

Fuvayus Vortex Stone and Polar Spine set

4 months ago, I wrote a blog entry on Octo-Spine set. Recently, 3 new items have been introduced.

The Fuvayus Vortex Stone is an Epic item. It is award to the guild with the most hits on a Titan. As with all other Epic items, the item alone has 100 Elite Hunter, making it a "1-item set". The Vortex Stone requires minimum level 400 to equip.

In a recent legendary event, a new legendary creature was introduced. The Polar Spine Chomper can be found in the caves via scavenging. They drop 2 items that form a set, much like the other spine chompers. These items are crystalline, like all other spine items. The items are Polar Spine Grips (gloves) and Polar Spine Neckpiece (amulet). This is a level 650 set.

The Vortex Stone has 880 damage when perfect crafted and fully forged. The Vortex Stone does not add to attack stats. The Octo-Spine set with Shield and Stone has 1686 damage and 561 attack, including set bonus. So for the Vortex Stone to beat the Octo-Spine set, the shield must have at least 806 damage. Such item comes only at level 577. So that is the level where I shall start my analysis.

Level 577 (Octo-Spine vs Fuvayus Vortex Stone)
The maximum damage items at this level are :
Gloves of Li Shang, Sphynx Helmet, Dazmorr Amulet, Master of Magic Spear, Armor of Kithdor, Shield of Roljill, Ring of Limjarrin, Sthenos Slither Boots, Fuvayus Vortex Stone.
Using that setup, the total damage is 7778, with 1142 attack and 897 defense.
With Octo-Spine set, the total damage is 7747, with 1518 attack and 280 defense.
The trade-off is therefore 31 damage for 376 attack. In fact, the trade-off for attack is more, since Keen Edge can give another 273 more attack with the Octo-Spine set. Keen Edge gives no bonus when using the Vortex Stone and the other max damage items.

Level 578-599 (Equal Improvements)
In these levels, the maximum damage can be improved with these items :
Level 578 - Boots of Abknar
Level 581 - Rune of Cralze (Higher damage, but does not add to Elite Hunter) (not applicable)
Level 582 - Ring of Reakel
Level 584 - Gloves of Corpia
Level 590 - Gloves of Renshar
Level 594 - Blade of Panethor
But they improve both the Vortex and Octo-Spine setups equally, so the comparison and trade-offs remain the same.

Level 600 (Adventurer set)
At level 600, the Adventurer set has 2 items that have the maximum damage for that level. They are the Aging Adventurer Breastplate and Looted Adventurer Tower Shield. The Shield actually shares the same maximum damage. The other 2 items that make up the set are the Looted Adventurer Gauntlets and Looted Adventurer Boots.
Using the Looted Aventurer set the accompanying items are : Sphynx Helmet, Dazmorr Amulet, Blade of Panethor, Ring of Reakel, Rune of Cralze. The total damage adds up to 7617, with 1290 attack and 2662 defense.
Using the Vortex Stone, the other items are : Gloves of Renshar, Sphynx Helmet, Dazmorr Amulet, Blade of Panethor, Aging Adventurer Breastplate, Shield of Roljill, Ring of Reakel, Boots of Abknar. The total damage adds up to 8196, with 1125 attack.
Using Octo-Spine set, the other items are : Gloves of Renshar, Sphynx Helmet, Dazmorr Amulet, Blade of Panethor, Aging Adventurer Breastplate, Ring of Reakel, Boots of Abknar. The total damage adds up to 8165, with 1501 attack.
So the trade-off for Vortex and Octo-Spine still has not changed.

Level 600-649 (Damage upgrades)
Level 609 - Rune of Howbale
Level 612 - Helmet of Grunthar (After 232 levels, finally a helmet upgrade)
Level 616 - Ring of Gasrel
Level 618 - Weapon of Shalok
Level 625 - Boots of Banevor
Level 629 - Rune of Staveal
Level 632 - Ziprael Amulet, Armor of Fellaphel (After 233 levels, finally an amulet upgrade)
Level 633 - Amulet of Lihhal
Level 635 - Weapon of Acualle, Rune of Eassel
Level 636 - Amulet of Tinale
Level 637 - Amulet of Phalla
Level 639 - Boots of Aeroni
Level 647 - Shield of Stalia

Level 650 (Polar Spine set)
Other than the polar spine set, the Gloves of Sarlonde also increases the maximum damage at this level.
Using the Vortex Stone, the other items will be : Gloves of Sarlonde, Helmet of Grunthar, Amulet of Phalla, Weapon of Acualle, Armor of Fellaphel, Shield of Stalia, Ring of Gasrel, Boots of Aeroni. The total damage is 9448, with 947 attack and 1917 defense.
Using the Octo-Spine set, the other items will be : Gloves of Sarlonde, Helmet of Grunthar, Amulet of Phalla, Weapon of Acualle, Armor of Fellaphel, Ring of Gasrel, Boots of Aeroni. The total damage is 9289, with 1069 attack and 1537 defense.
The Vortex Stone - Octo-Spine trade-offs has increased to 159 damage for 122 attack (and another 195 attack in Keen Edge).
Using the Polar Spine set, the other items will be : Helmet of Grunthar, Weapon of Acualle, Armor of Fellaphel, Shield of Stalia, Ring of Gasrel, Boots of Aeroni, Rune of Eassel. The total damage is 9394, with 1799 attack, 1124 defense, and 1765 armor. This setup clearly out shines the other two.

Conclusion
The Vortex Stone was not a big boost. The reduced attack was huge, and the best way to increase the attack is to go back to the Octo-Spine setup. As the level increases, new damage items get introduced and Vortex Stone setup begins to out shine that of the Octo-Spine. But at level 650, the Polar Spine gets thrown in. Even though it has less damage, it has a lot more attack. The trade-off at level 650 is 52 damage for 852 attack.


Thanks to andypearce, UveBinHad, grimnok, and SirJamez for helping me gather the stats of some items mentioned in this blog. Thanks to andypearce who did a sanity check on my initial calculations.

Strategy for Tough Levels

I was planning ahead, and it is not the first time I encounter levels where 1-hitting is impossible, not even with Death Dealer and high level CA. The Lao Xan Merchant Guard need even conservatively 18117 damage to 1-hit, and the maximum I can gather is 18048. 18117 is simply Armor + HP for that creature.

So as usual, I consider the option of staying back. The previous level requires CA 75. That has an efficiency of 1.48, which is worse than using the Potion of Fatality. That assumes that you can 1-hit when wither activates, as well as having enough defense not to get hit when wither did not activate. There's also another assumption that CA is not needed in this setup. If such a setup is possible, the efficiency would be 1.3.

I could not find a combination that has enough defense without the use of CA. The best I came up with was a setup that require CA 25. That adds a 1.0625 multiplier and the efficiency becomes 1.38. This is still better than staying back with CA 75.

That's when I thought about another possibility. What about simply going full damage, and use the shield imp 30% of the time. What's the efficiency of that? It turns out not to be such a good idea. Each imp used is about 8.3 stam. That means 30% of the time, you will not only be double hitting, but also use an imp block. That means the efficiency is 1.46. It is still slightly better than staying back with CA 75, but not as good as a defensive setup with CA25.

So why am I documenting this? Even though it is not the best setup for level 548, this is a viable strategy. If a level is so tough as to require CA 50 with wither in defensive mode, then this setup is no worse. Also, if you can get Imps at below stam cost, that will make this setup more efficient. That can be due to players selling imps below stam cost, or having a friend use Buff Master to buff the Imps.

Below table assumes 16x doubler.
It does not account for Shield Strike, Deathwish and Critical Hits. Please see updated table in my blog on Shield Strike.

Efficiency	Setup
1.00	1-hit
1.06	CA-25
1.13	CA-50
1.19	CA-75
1.25	CA-100
1.25	Back-level (1-hit)
1.30	Wither 350 + Defense
1.31	CA-125
1.33	Back-level (CA-25)
1.38	CA-150
1.38	Wither 350 + CA25 + Defense
1.41	Back-level (CA-50)
1.44	CA-175
1.46	Wither 350 + Imp
1.46	Wither 350 + CA50 + Defense
1.48	Back-level (CA-75)
1.54	Wither 350 + CA75 + Defense
1.56	Back-level (CA-100)
1.64	Back-level (CA-125)
1.72	Back-level (CA-150)
1.80	Back-level (CA-175)
2.00	2-hit

Dark Realm and Vision

The Secret Kingdom (Thicket), the level 523 Realm introduces something new to the game. That realm is a dark realm. What does it mean by a dark ream?

On the world screen, we can typically see a 5x5 grid showing us the areas around us. However, in a dark realm, you can only see the square you are standing on.

Vision is a level 500 skill. It is listed under the defensive tree. The official description :

Lights up dark realms. More skill points allow more vision on the 'Map' screen. (Vision radius increases every 50 levels.

However, the description is not clear on what is the 'initial' vision?
What if there is only 1 point in the skill? Does the vision radius increase?
Here's the deal :
Level 1-49 : Only 1x1 grid is shown.
Level 50-99 : 3x3 grid is shown.
Level 100+ : 5x5 grid is shown.

So, the first question, is level 1-49 even useful?
On undocumented aspect of a dark realm is that your attack is halved.
With vision, that penalty is removed.

What about level 150? Are there any advantage?
With level 150+, you can view 7x7 on the realm map.
It does not affect the world map.
Since most player use fallen sword guide or the wiki for their maps, I'd say level 100 is probably sufficient for most.

In fact, level 1 is probably enough, just to remove the half attack penalty, and any higher levels is more for convenience.

Path of the Dread Mist

Yes, I am upset at the surprises I have today, but there were no information on them. So I thought I should document it, so others can learn from my mistake instead of having everyone make the same.

After so many levels, especially a tough level 533, I was looking forward to a rare Undead level 534. I looked at Mowglik's map and found that there are 2 level 534 realms with 2 different level 534 creatures. The Lower Beach has Glaucus Pirate which required a CA 50 to 1-hit. The Path of the Dread Mist is where I want to go, since the Loom of Shadow is an undead and will be an easy 1-hit without CA. And that's where things go wrong. I went through the Gloomy Vale, but could not enter the Path of the Dread Mist. To do so, I must complete the quest Gate to the Darkness, and for that I need a Shroud Key which I must make from a recipe from another quest, which requires me to reach the top of a lighthouse and that requires that I complete yet more quests before I can proceed up the lighthouse. So it's all a big mess, and I'll lay out the dependencies below in a clearer fashion.

To enter 'Path of the Dread Mist' : Require completion of quest 'Gate to the Darkness'.
To complete 'Gate to the Darkness' : Require a Shroud Key.
To get the Shroud Key : Require Shroud Key Recipe, Strange Mans Rune, Shroud Icon, Fishermans Heart.
To get Shroud Key Recipe and Fishermans Heart : Complete quest 'Marked by the Hag'.
To complete 'Marked by the Hag' : You will need quest 'Clash of Magics' (level 495) {to enter LightHouse Middle} and quest 'A Potent Brew' (level 503/510) {to enter Light House Upper}.
To get Shroud Icon : Complete quest 'Kidnapped Citizen' (level 529).
To get Strange Mans Rune : Complete quest 'A Potent Brew' {which you need to enter Light House Upper}

Summary ::
You should check that you have completed the following quests before beginning your hunt for level 534 ::
Clash of Magics (level 495)
A Potent Brew (level 503/510)
Kidnapped Citizen (level 529)
Marked by the Hag (level 533)
Gate to the Darkness (level 534)

There might have been more dependencies that I missed because I have already completed them and was not alerted to the requirements. If you encounter them, let me know and I will share it with everyone on this blog.

Light Foot

I have been asked this many times, and have done the calculation many times. Now that we actually have players who are level 700 and can have this buff, I thought I should add it to my blog.
Also, it has been 3 months since I wrote and I must acknowledge that I feel a little guilty for not writing after getting so many positive feedback.

Light Foot is a level 700 skill. It requires 15 stamina, and the official description is :

0.05% chance to use no stamina while moving on the world map.

I believe the description is wrong, and that it is actually :

0.05% per point chance to use no stamina while moving on the world map.

Since it is level 700, we can presume that the buff will be a level 175 when used.

So, is that buff worth it?
Let's compute the breakeven.
At level 175, there is a 8.75% chance to use no stamina.
That means, even 11.43 step you take, you should save one stamina on average.
Since the buff takes 15 stamina, the breakeven point is 171.43 steps.

At a regular realm for level 500, and using 16x doubler, an average hunt should take about 60 moves at least. If you go back to defend your guild's relic, this buff at stam cost is almost definitely going to be worth it.

A potion version is also available.
The Potion of Lesser Light Foot is a level 25 buff and cost about 2 fsp in AH.
Being more expensive than the stam cost for the level 175 buff, I will definitely suggest not getting the potion.
Also, at level 25, it is only a 1.25% chance to use no stamina.
That translates to 1 stamina saved in 80 steps.
At the cost of 2 fsp, you'd have to take 400 steps for break even.
Otherwise, you're better off using those 2 fsps to buy 50 stam.

Buy stam or buy xp

If you have fsps and want to use it to power level. Should you buy stamina or buy experience?

The 2 upgrades that I am comparing are :

+25 Current Stamina (cost 1 fsp)
+1% Experience towards next level (cost 2 fsp)

Some players frown upon the second option, but I think it is fair game. There are reasons why you will not buy experience, such as buying experience will not add to your guild experience. It will also not get you any creature drops, if there are any that you wanted. Setting those aside, is it better to buy stamina to kill creatures or to buy experience?

So at level 431, I took 10 samples of average creature xp. I got it as 32567 (halving when librarian activates). Assuming you hunt like me with 16x doubler, level 175 Adept Learner and Level 225 Librarian, the librarian should activate 22.5% of the time, giving an average of 39637 xp per creature attacked. Assuming 2% misses and 50/6 stam used for shield imps when you miss, the average stam per attack comes to 16.4867. That means, for each fsp, you can buy 25 stam and gain 60105 xp. 2 fsps can buy 1% xp, and at level 431, that is 55599 xp. So it is definitely better to buy stamina than to buy 1% xp, at least at level 431.

Even with CA 100, 2 fsps of stamina an still buy 96362 xp, significantly more than buying xp. Even if creature xp does not increase (and it does), that is more than 1% for level 567. Added with the the advantage of getting gold and possibly item drops, and xp contribution to guild, one should clearly buy stamina instead of xp. There are some instances where it may make sense to buy xp. One such possibility would be where that 1 % gain means you don't need a higher buffs to kill a tough level, or perhaps that 1 % puts you over a level so that you don't have to walk to a far realm. But those upgrades should be used sparingly, and buying stamina is almost always a better option.

Arterial Strike

Arterial Strike is a skill in the offense tree. It is a level 500 skill, and has dependency on Spectral Knight, which in turn has dependency on Shatter Armor. However, until Shatter Armor and Spectral Knight which reduces or eliminates opponent's armor, Arterial Strike is more like Adept Learner or Librarian and gives extra xp for killing creatures. The skill uses 20 stamina, and has a base duration of 60 minutes. Here's the official description :

Gain additional 0.1% xp per point for every additional round of combat. (Note that this does not activate if conserve activated)

So, if you have been following my blogs, you will know I am a big proponent of 1-hitting. Note the word 'additional' in the description. That means you do not get any extra xp if you 1-hit. So what use is it if you are 1-hitting?

Well, even if you are 1-hitting, you will miss, at least 2% of the time. And that was why we need the shield imp. Each time you use an imp, you get 17.5% more xp (than you would in a single attack). So assuming you are using the 16x doubler, and no CA, then that 17.5% translates to 2.8 stam in xp. Since the buff uses 20 stam, the break even will be 20/2.8 = 7.14. If you use CA, then you can reach the breakeven even sooner. Refer to the chart below for the breakevens. Note the breakeven number 7.14 is not limited to imp blocks, but should include dodges, shockwave, or any other incidences that may require you to go 2 combat rounds.

Doubler and CA	Breakeven
16x Doubler with no CA	7.14
16x Doubler with CA25	6.72
16x Doubler with CA50	6.35
16x Doubler with CA75	6.02
16x Doubler with CA100	5.71
16x Doubler with CA125	5.44
16x Doubler with CA150	5.19
16x Doubler with CA175	4.97
11x Doubler with no CA	10.39
11x Doubler with CA36	9.52
11x Doubler with CA72	8.79
11x Doubler with CA109	8.16
11x Doubler with CA145	7.62
11x Doubler with CA175	7.14

Does that mean AS is better when you use 16x doubler, or when you use CA? Actually, that's a little misleading. A hunting session is not defined by a fixed number of hits (and therefore the ratio of misses), but typically defined by the stam used. When you use 16x doubler or a higher CA, you will be killing fewer creatures. Assuming you are 1-hitting smoothly, and misses only 2% of the time, then the breakeven is about a 6000 stam hunt. That said, if you are encountering tough creatures, with nullify, dodge, first strike, and the 2-hit rates are higher than 2%, then it might even be worth getting it for a shorter hunt.

Octo-Spine Set

So today, my guildmate andypearce exclaimed on guild chat that we needed a 2nd Octo-Spine set.
He just realized that the Octo-Spine set is still the best set at level 563. Up to today, everyone was using the Brides set. So I thought the change might be due to the upgraded Potion of Greater Enchant Weapon which provides a level 1500 Enchant Weapon buff. At that level, the weapon statistics is multiplied by 2.5. I then looked at my older blog entry on 1-hit setups, and noticed that the best setup, even at level 400, was not the Argus set (which has no weapon), but the Octo-Spine set. Just how good is that set?

Level 400 (Argus set vs Octo-Spine set)
Using the Argus set, the other items will be : Sphynx Helmet, Sword of Ursa, Octo-Spine Shield, Ring of Arzmil. The total damage will be 6937, with 1243 attack. Using the Octo-Spine set, the other items will be : Crushing Fist Gauntlets, Sphynx Helmet, Dazmorr Amulet, Sword of Ursa, Argus Armor, Ring of Arzmil, Argus Boots. The total damage will be 6978, with only 812 attack. Trading 41 damage for more than 400 attack appears to be good, but perhaps unnecessary, especially with Keen Edge buff and Potion of Black Death. Many players also choose to use the Crushing Fist Ring over the Ring of Arzmil, myself included. This is trading 8 damage for 260 attack. This comparison is regardless of the EW potion, since the weapon used is the same. At level 408, that weapon can be upgraded to the Double Axe of Demrhyle. At level 420, the weapon can be further upgraded to the Master of Magic Spear, giving a final damage of 7153.

Level 440 (Argus set vs Octo-Spine set, rematch)
The same 2 sets, but at this level, new boots with more damage becomes available : Sthenos Slither Boots. The boots offer more attack and damage than the Argus Boots. So using the Octo-Spine set now will give a total damage of 7188, with 977 attack. The attack-damage tradeoffs now become trading of 76 damage for 266 attack. At level, it'll probably be much more compelling to use the Octo-Spine set.

Level 470 (Hunters Edge upgrade)
Both Argus and Octo-Spine sets do not include a ring. The ring was to be either the Ring of Arzmil, or the Crushing Fist Ring as mentioned earlier on. At this level, Hunters Edge becomes available and has better attack and damage than both rings. The Octo-Spine set now gives a total damage of 7232, with 1375 attack.

Level 484 (Brides set vs Octo-Spine set)
This was the main comparison that prompted me to write this entry. At level 484, the Brides set, introduced as a Halloween event last year, has very attractive stats. This set will be used with : Crushing Fist Gauntlets, Sphynx Helmet, Dazmorr Amulet, Hunters Edge, Sthenos Slither Boots, Rune of Roh. It'll have a total damage of 7408, and attack of 1971. The Octo-set also gets an upgrade on the armor, using the Brides Crackling gown, and will have damage of 7302, with 1647 attack.
Here's where it gets interesting. The armor is the same, so enchant armor gives the same bonus. But the weapon is different. Using the Potion of Truth (EW 1000), the Brides set will have 8204 damage with 2349 attack. The Octo-Spine set will have 8292 damage with 1647 attack. The damage-attack trade off is trading 88 damage for 702 attack. With the new Potion of Greater Enchant Weapon (EW 1500), Brides set will have 8602 damage and 2538 attack, while Octo-Spine set will have 8787 damage and 1647 attack.
So if you have enough attack, the Octo-Spine set (from level 350), is still the best set!

Level 540 (Rune of the Minion)
There might be upgrades between 484 and 539, but not for the items that differentiate the 2 sets. The Rune of the Minion provides an upgrade to the Brides set, but not the Octo-Spine set. At this level, if using only the Potion of Truth (EW 1000), the Brides set will have 2 damage more than the Octo-Spine set. But using the Potion of Greater Enchant Weapon (EW 1500), the Octo-Spine set still gives 95 damage more than the Brides set.

Further Upgrades that matter
At level 560, the Octo-Spine set gets an armor upgrade with Armor of Shonia. This armor, though having a higher damage, has a lower attack. At level 563, the Armor of Kithdor adds almost 200 damage more, skewing in favor of the Octo-Spine set even more. At 581, the Rune of Cralze comes into play, but not enough to skew the 200 damage added by the armor. At 594, the Blade of Panethor further enhances the Octo-Spine set. And the ultimate armor damage comes at level 600 with Aging Adventurer Breastplate. At level 609, the Rune of Howbale adds another 11 damage to the Brides set, but that hardly does anything.

Conclusion
So it seems that the Octo-Spine, a level 350 set, is the ultimate set! Well, that might be jumping to conclusion. As new content comes in to play, I am sure there will be new sets that will be better. In fact, the level 600 Adventurer set might just be that, but I don't have all the stats of that set to compare.

Killing Super Elites

Yes, I am talking about the Super Elite creatures, and not players like jmaisc or zenji. I am not a SE hunter, but as I approach level 420, the quest "A Sorry Tale" will require that I kill one. So I might as well plan for it.
In training, I typically equip my gear, and then figure out which buff and buff levels I will need. But when attacking with a group, this procedure has to be reversed. You get your buff, and then figure out how big a group you will need. So save the stam of your guild mate, one should lock the group when the group has sufficient stats to kill the creature you want, maybe with a little buffer, just in case one of the group member switches gear.

Let's start with buffs. Which buffs are most useful?
Super Elite Slayer is naturally useful, since that is its sole purpose, to help with killing a Super Elite. One can get that buff from a potion also. Potion of the Slayer offers a level 125 SES buff with a 60 mins duration.
Any buffs that affect the opponent is more useful than a buff that affect yourself. You are forming a group, of maybe 10 members. A buff that increase your ability means increasing 1 out of the 10 members. While a buff that affect the opponent affect it as a whole, and that applies whether it is a super elite or a relic capture.
So what are the buffs that affect the opponent?
Dark Curse can dramatically reduce the defense of your opponent, and that means a big reduction in the attack you will need. Potions can give a buff higher than the levels a player can cast, and they include Sludge Brew (DC 200), and Potion of Black Death (DC 225).
Flinch, a buff that was pretty much unavailable until recently where AzUK became the first player to reach level 600. It reduces the attack of your opponent, and therefore useful, but only when you want to attack in defense mode (which is the preferred mode).
Terrorze, can reduce opponent's damage, and can be useful in armor mode. However, we are still waiting for content to allow players to reach level 700 to get that buff.
Wither halves the HP of your opponent, but its effect depends on a roll of the dice.
Mesmerize can also reduce the creature stats, but also depend on the roll of dice. This is yet another buff that is still unavailable due to lack of content.

Therefore I wrote a small script to compute the effects with those buffs (excluding Wither and Mesmerize).
http://sisland83.bravehost.com/superelites.html

To use that script, select the creature you want, enter the level of the buffs you have (or plan to get), and hit the 'Calculate' button. It will show you the stats needed in your group. As with any creature hits, you don't need defense nor armor if you have the attack and damage to kill in 1 hit. However, if you need more than 1, then you will need either defense OR armor, but not both. Guilds with the Military Advisor structure can view the stats of the group and determine if it is sufficient to kill the SE.

However, there are buffs that do not show up on the stats.
Buffs that does additional damage based on lead attacker and not shown in group stats includes Blood Thirst, Ignite, Holy Flame, Death Dealer, Savagery, Chi Strike, Assist, and Counter Attack.
Constitution can increase defense, and Sanctuary can increase armor. Sanctuary is a potion only buff.
Shield Strike looks risky, especially if you need 3 or more hits to kill the creature. Nightmare Visage reduces attack, and is not shown on the stats, so beware.
Since I am not an SE hunter, I am not 100% sure that all those buffs apply in group attacks. Please let me know if you have experimented with them. Thanks.

Xinderoth - The path I took

Xinderoth, the realms from level 400 - 420. Considered as a nightmare for some players. I'm nearly done with it, and many guild mates are just about to enter this stage. I won't say what I did was perfect, but I will share my encounters and experience, and some suggestions.

Level 400
Level 400, the City of Xinderoth, is a big realm. There are 10 different creatures in that realm, some harder to 1-hit than the others. There are 5 different quests in this realms, and some has mentioned in forum that they could not advanced to the next realm due to uncompleted quests. So what's needed, and what are not?

The quests are, in a way, designed to be completed in this order (counter clockwise) from where you enter.
1. Filthy Animals
2. Festival Revelers
3. Lead Astray
4. The Heat of Ambition
5. Bite the Hand

I have completed only ONE of those 5 quests. The quest that I completed is Filthy Animals. Doing quests can be fun for some, and I am not suggesting that you follow in my footstep.
Another suggestion on creatures to attack is to select a CA level that allow you to kill at least 5 of those 10 creatures, and simply pass up on those you cannot 1-hit with that CA level. I selected CA 36 with 11x doubler.

Also, the level 401 quest will require a Summoning Seal, which can be found on Xinderoth Watcher. Xinderoth Watcher is one of the 10 creatures found on this level. So I recommend getting the seal on this level.

Level 401-409

These levels are pretty straight forward. The realms are large, so the creatures are sparse. For level 402 and 403, you may have better luck finding creatures in Sanctum of Doth Realm, and Circle of the Fiend Realm respectively. I needed a low level CA for 407 and 409. There is a path from the world map to level 410, so I actually ended level 409 early and let XP gain do the job to complete that level. Since 409 is a relatively tough level that requires CA, the XP gain was worth more.

Level 410-420

I needed a low level CA for level 414. When I hit level 416, I stayed back on the 415 realms. The level 416 creatures requires a CA level higher than 100, so I was better off just staying back. Looking forward, I will need a low level CA for 419, and CA75 for 420.

Equipment

I used the Argus set, Sphynx Helmet, Sword of Ursa, Octo-Spine Shield, and Crushing Fist Ring. At level 408, I switched my weapon to the Double Axe of Demrhyle. From 410-413, I was using Pharaohs Sarcophagus instead of the Octo-Spine Shield. For level 419, the creature has a higher defense, so I am planning on using the Doth Blades set. And finally, at level 420, the weapon of choice will be the Master of Magic Spear. All my gears are perfect and fully forged.

Items to Hunt for

For most items mentioned above, I want them before I start on the level, so that means I bought them. However, at level 408, the Opticor set is a very nice standby set, so I hunted for them. I got only 1 drop, bought the rest. The Sarabaite set at 415 have nice attacks, and probably more useful when used in PvP and SE hunting.

Hell Forge Cost

I have been writing rather lenthy blogs, so I thought I will write a short one this time.
In the game, you can hell forge an item. Official Description ::

The Hell Forge contains the fire of hell itself. Known to contain great power, the fires of hell can be used to unlease the true potential of any item, increasing its statistics permanently (except for hourly 'Gain' stats). Each time you use the forge on an item to increase its forge level (see the guide below) costs 2 FallenSword Points plus an amount of gold depending on the items level.

Now, the question to answer in this blog is, what is that amount of gold?
The gold required for the first forge is [Item level] * 150 gold, subjected to a minimum [Item level] of 50. That is, all items below level 50 are treated as level 50 for the purpose of computing hell forge cost. The gold for subsequent forge is double that of the previous.

I have also written a script to compute the cost, and it can be found here ::
http://sisland83.bravehost.com/forgecost.html

PvP Arena

I have wanted to write this a long time, so here it goes.
I have won quite a few PvP Arena tournaments, so I get a few questions here and there on Arena and how to 'do' it. Unfortunately, there are no sure way of 'doing' it. If there is such thing as a 'best' setup, then every player who figure it out (and it should not be hard), will have the same setup, and your chance of winning one will be the same as everyone, 1 in 16 (or 1 in 32 if it is a 5 round tournament). So have patience, have confidence that you have 'the' set, and keep trying.

Now, as I said, there actually probably isn't one 'best' setup. Let us assume a contest of an arbitrary level. A player with attack = J, damage = K, defense = L, armor = M. Assuming you cannot beat the sum of the stats, which otherwise will be moot, you can still beat it by having attack = L+10, damage = M+10, defense = 1, armor = K+20. That way, your opponent deal only 1 damage to you, while you do 10 damage on average to your opponent. That assumes J attack is greater than 40, or you will need a higher total stats. But now, I can beat that by having attack = 10, damage = K + 30, defense = L+40, armor = 1. In that setup, I will be able to hit you (my attack 10 is higher than your defense 1), but you won't be able to hit me (my defense is higher than your attack. And my total stats is lower if M is greater than 40. And there's a setup that can beat : attack = L+60, damage = 1, defense = 20, armor = 1. So in a way, it is like playing rock, scissors, paper. No wonder players don't like to share their setup.

But the point is not to beat a single player. You can always do that. The point is to beat 4 players, all potentially having different setups. If you know that all of them will be showing 'rock', you will use 'paper', and the odds will favor you. So you want to be different! I have seen level 202 winning a level 438 tournament, because he was different. So does that mean you can put on anything and expect a fair 1 in 16 chance to win? Unfortunately, not exactly. There is a chance that you can win, but it could be very low. Assuming the rock scissors paper game, you have to win 4 in a row, and that means 1 in 81, not 1 in 16. How can it be that everyone only have a 1 in 81 chance? That does not add up. Well, not everyone has a 1 in 81 chance. When both players show a 'rock', then the setup now matters. If both are armor/damage setup with minimal attack/defense for example, then the sum of armor/damage matters. If both players get knocked out, the judges decision is first by total damage dealt, before tossing a coin. So if you have a 'better' setup, then you're more likely to win when both players show the same symbol.

But above was assuming contests without moves. Arena combat moves add a new dimension to that rock scissors paper game. The choice of moves should not be dependent on an opponent. Your objective is not to beat one opponent in particular, but to win 4 random ones. Instead, it should be chosen to match the type of setup you have. You want moves that add damage or chance to hit if you have a hitting setup, but moves that reduces opponents chance to hit if you have defensive ones.

I'll list a few categories of setups, but please do not let these limit your imagination.

Defensive setup
In this setup, one attempts to maximize the defense. The objective is prevent being hit. You also want to be able to hit your opponent, but not necessarily doing a lot of damage, just 1 damage will suffice. In this setup, the first priority is defense, and the second priority is attack. Armor, Damage, HP are of no importance. If you have combat moves and the tournaments allow for it, you will want to use Defend, Block, Dodge, or maybe even Deflect. Those reduces the chances that you get hit even further.

Armor setup
In this setup, this is the exact opposite defense. The objective is reduce all damage done to you to 1. The first priority is armor, the secondary priority is damage and hp. Attack is not as important, since you aren't likely to get an attack higher than the defensive setup anyhow, might as well not have it at all. You are going to rely on the 2% chance to hit. However, you want enough damage, so that when you do hit, you should be able to make a knock-out. Why hp? There are 40 rounds of combat. The defensive setup will be hitting you for 1 damage in each round, so you will want 40 hp to last 40 rounds of combat to give you 40 chances to hit. If your hp is only 10, 2% chance in 10 rounds is only 20% chance of winning. But if you have 40 hp, then you have a 80% chance to win. That excludes combat moves, and the actual chance might be lower. This setup almost does not depend on combat moves to combat the defensive setup. But combat moves come into play when you are being matched up against a similar setup. In those cases, you will be hitting, and don't be surprised that your opponent will be hitting also. So you want to use moves that increase damage or even the chance to hit. Those moves will include Critical Hit, Power Attack, and possibly even Spin Attack.

Another tip on Arena. The tournaments to win moves are usually easier to win. The top Arena players would have won 3 of those moves and can no longer take part, so those taking parts are those who are still experimenting. The top Arena players also have more resources and the confidence to take part in all tournaments. The cheaper tournaments are a good way to experiment for many players, and hence easier to win. Having said that, do not be afraid of the top arena champions. I have beaten all of them in at least one tournament. Even they are not infallible, and lady luck has the final say in many cases. What you can do is increase your odds by using the best gears and choosing the correct moves to go with it. If you are winning 1 in 16 tournaments you take part in, you are doing above average.

XP Gain

XP Gain is a great attribute that can help players advance faster in levels.
At level 150, a player can gain more than 30% of his level a day without having to use a single stam, just by XP Gain.

Every player starts out with +2 XP Gain.

There are items that can increase that XP Gain

• Shield of Bakmar (craftable, can increase up to +5 depending on craft)
• Fire Dragon Ring (+1 XP Gain)
• Jara Rune (+1 XP Gain)
• Writhing Ward (+1 XP Gain)

Set bonus can also include XP Gain

• Maximus Set (+1 XP Gain)
• Gurgriss Set (+1 XP Gain)

Relics can also give XP Gain bonus

• Despair Crystal (+200 XP Gain)
• Ethereal Pillars (+200 XP Gain)
  
• Krul Pyramid (+200 XP Gain)
• Searing Orb (+100 XP Gain)
  
• Unholy Shring (+200 XP Gain)

Finally, a player can apply an upgrade on his character for "+25 XP Gain (per hour)".
Each upgrade cost 15 fsps, and a player can apply up to 50 upgrades.
At 50 upgrades, that will add +1250 XP Gain.

On the character upgrade page, XP Gain is defined as such ::

Note that your 'xp gain' is allocated, plus a bonus of your xp gain times a multiplier equal to your level minus 50 divided by '25' (rounding down).
Note the actual value is always reflected in the quick display at the top bar xp mouseover. Note also at lower levels this value is then scaled down up to a reduction factor of 10 to stop it potientially being too overpowering. Below level 25, no additional bonus is applied.

That description is not concrete and wrong. As described above, the XP Gains are added up. A multiplier is then applied, and the multiplier is actually [Player Level]/25 + 1 (rounded down).
Note that there are no subtraction of 50 level as described on that page.
Also, the description of a reduction factor is vague. I will appreciate if any players below level 150 reading this page can let me know the values they observed.

I wrote a calculator to compute the XP Gain, and the value has been observed to be correct for level 150 and higher. The calculator can be found on the URL below :

http://sisland83.bravehost.com/xpgain.html


So above describes XP Gain, but what's the value of such attribute?
Many players will agree with me that Stamina Gain is probably the most important upgrade.
And XP Gain will come in a strong second. When that upgrade is maximized, it contributes about 10% of a level for level 400 players (and more for lower level players).
The 750 fsps needed to maximize the upgrade could have been spent to buy stamina for levels, but that will only get you about 10 levels (at around level 400). So you get to break even in 100 days. That sounds like a reasonably fair tradeoff. However, its value can be higher, especially if you plan and rest to recover on difficult levels (levels that will require a higher level CA to 1-hit).
But how does it compare to Stamina Gain, is it even better than Stamina Gain? For a level 400 player, each upgrade earns 425 XP per hour, while a creature kill gets you about 2200 XP per hour. So it is clear that Stamina Gain is much more valuable to a level 400 player. I believe that comparison holds true for lower levels also.

What about relics? Is it worth more than Stamina Gain relics? Those relics that provide +200 XP Gain effectively gives 8 upgrades worth in XP Gains, worth 120 fsps in value, compared to Stamina Gains upgrades that are worth 25 fsps per upgrade. However, that is the wrong way to compare. Instead, for a level 400 player, +200 XP Gain with the multiplier actually earns you 3400 XP per hour. While a single stamina earns you a single creature kill, worth about 2200 XP. Of course, the Despair Crystals has both +200 XP Gain and +1 Stamina Gain, making it the most desirable relic. OK, so it is moredesirable than a Stamina Gain relic. But is it really worth all the walking? Assuming one needs about 120 stamina to return to the relic and back to the hunting grounds. That is 264k XP. To break even on the XP gained, one has to stay on the relic for 3.24 days. That clearly is valuable to some players with enough maximum stamina. But what if not all the players need to return? Let's say, only half needs to return (with players taking turns perhaps). Then it should be clear that the relic is very well worth defending.

What about items with XP Gains? The Shield of Bakmar adds +5 XP Gain. But at level 400, that adds 85 XP per hour. Those +1 XP Gain items add only 17 XP per hour. But that XP is much less than a single creature kill. In fact, the Shield of Bakmar only add 2040 XP per day, and a single Stamina earns you more than that. It is still all nice, better than nothing at all. However, if you have to spend 120 stamina to walk back to a relic, you really should be willing to give that up. Assume 9 players with 9 slots for defense. If you use the shield, there's really only 8 slots for defense. Instead, if only 8 players return (the 9 players can take turn on who can stay out), and not use the shield, they can get the same total defense, and save 120 stamina. Compared to all 9 players returning and getting 1 stamina worth in XP every day, it'll take 13 days to break even against the 120 stamina.